Financial Times

Campaigns that change perceptions and drive subscriptions

The Financial Times is one of the world’s most respected publishing brands, with a 128-year history and a reputation for providing premium business intelligence. Acquired by Japanese financial media giant Nikkei in 2015, the newspaper is known for its salmon pink pages that are synonymous with the City of London. As well as its daily print and online edition FT.com, the FT has a number of specialist subscription products that comprise the organisation’s ‘Corporate’ b2b offer.

The brief

“Help us communicate the value of our FT Corporate and FT Education subscriptions to become the number one information resource for global enterprises and MBA educational institution providers.”

The FT was aiming to increase the uptake of its Corporate subscription product among global professional services firms, businesses, banks and governments.

At the same time, we were asked to plan a lead generation push for FT Education, a specialist subscription package that includes a suite of learning tools developed specifically to enhance MBA teaching.

We were tasked with creating a memorable and consistent visual language and tone to achieve standout for the FT’s ‘Corporate’ products, together with targeted lead generation campaigns incorporating email, direct mail, social, paid search and content assets.

The brief

“Help us communicate the value of our FT Corporate and FT Education subscriptions to become the number one information resource for global enterprises and MBA educational institution providers.”

The FT was aiming to increase the uptake of its Corporate subscription product among global professional services firms, businesses, banks and governments.

At the same time, we were asked to plan a lead generation push for FT Education, a specialist subscription package that includes a suite of learning tools developed specifically to enhance MBA teaching.

We were tasked with creating a memorable and consistent visual language and tone to achieve standout for the FT’s ‘Corporate’ products, together with targeted lead generation campaigns incorporating email, direct mail, social, paid search and content assets.

The delivery

“Campaign propositions that brought the core benefits of an FT subscription to life for both target audiences, delivered through personalised and multi-segmented outbound lead generation campaigns.”

We developed specific campaign propositions to unite various tactical elements and clearly position the benefits of the FT subscription package for the target sectors: For example, “Bring global investment opportunity into focus” for the asset management audience and “Classroom theory in a real-world context” for education.

Multi-tiered lead generation campaigns combining print DM and digital elements were devised to reach out to key buyer personas. We used tactics such as a 45-day premium trial, set up with a unique code for lead tracking purposes and the offer to extend the trial by referring a colleague, to encourage viral sharing and take-up.

Direct activity for FT Corporate was supported by on and offline advertising, including a targeted LinkedIn campaign and a series of display ads in the FT itself.

For FT Education, personalised direct mail with a personalised URL landing page was issued to key prospects at the world’s top 50 MBA schools, supported by a campaign microsite housing additional content.

The delivery

“Campaign propositions that brought the core benefits of an FT subscription to life for both target audiences, delivered through personalised and multi-segmented outbound lead generation campaigns.”

We developed specific campaign propositions to unite various tactical elements and clearly position the benefits of the FT subscription package for the target sectors: For example, “Bring global investment opportunity into focus” for the asset management audience and “Classroom theory in a real-world context” for education.

Multi-tiered lead generation campaigns combining print DM and digital elements were devised to reach out to key buyer personas. We used tactics such as a 45-day premium trial, set up with a unique code for lead tracking purposes and the offer to extend the trial by referring a colleague, to encourage viral sharing and take-up.

Direct activity for FT Corporate was supported by on and offline advertising, including a targeted LinkedIn campaign and a series of display ads in the FT itself.

For FT Education, personalised direct mail with a personalised URL landing page was issued to key prospects at the world’s top 50 MBA schools, supported by a campaign microsite housing additional content.

Key results

Our goal was to secure five of the top 50 MBA schools on a trial sign-up to FT Education over a six-month period. At the close of the campaign we achieved a sign-up rate of 26 MBA schools, exceeding the client’s target by more than 500%.

Key results

Our goal was to secure five of the top 50 MBA schools on a trial sign-up to FT Education over a six-month period. At the close of the campaign we achieved a sign-up rate of 26 MBA schools, exceeding the client’s target by more than 500%.